Political Economy of Elections in Nigeria: Costs and Benefits

The conduct of periodic elections is critical for the consolidation of democracy in any society. The selection of leaders by the people through competitive elections has been identified as the central procedure for democracy (Huntington, 1991). Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has successfully conducted seven general elections in addition to other off-cycle, supplementary and rerun elections. As a nation, Nigeria has derived significant benefits from the conduct of elections but has also incurred economic and political costs from the conduct of these elections. Beyond the close to twenty-four years of unbroken civil rule and the opportunity offered to the citizens to exercise their franchise, elections have provided an opportunity for the electoral management body (EMB) to improve the quality of the electoral process. Data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) showed that Nigeria’s score on clean elections had increased slightly from less than 0.50 pre- 1999 to 0.53 in 2020. This is an indication of improvement in the quality of elections.

With a focus on the 2023 elections, this edition of Nextier Policy Weekly reflects on the political economy of elections in Nigeria and suggests ways to harness the benefits while mitigating the costs associated with the conduct of elections.

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